The present invention relates generally to telecommunication services and more particularly to caller identification using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) methods and systems.
Telecommunications service providers typically offer services that attempt to provide customers with information that enables them to determine whether or not to accept a call before answering the call. One service that provides such information is caller identification (“Caller ID”). Standard Caller ID services generally provide a customer with an indication of who is calling without requiring the customer to answer the call. These systems typically retrieve information about the calling party from a database and provide that information to the called party. Customer premise equipment (CPE) in the form of a display device is generally used to provide the called party with a visual readout of the name and/or telephone number associated with the calling party.
However, the effectiveness of Caller ID systems can be reduced due to a number of different occurrences. One such occurrence is the inability of a service provider to provide the standard Caller ID information for a particular incoming call. A service provider may not be able to provide the standard Caller ID information if the Caller ID information is blocked by the calling party, or if the Caller ID information is unavailable or incomplete. Also, the service provider may not be able to provide the standard Caller ID information if the call is marked “Private,” indicating that the calling party has taken steps to suppress transmission of Caller ID information. This may be done, in some areas of the United States by, for example, pressing *67 when initiating a call
When the standard Caller ID information cannot be provided, the called party is not adequately informed about who is calling and cannot determine whether or not to accept the incoming call before answering the call. Because the effectiveness of Caller ID systems is greatly reduced when information cannot be provided, there is a need for an improved system and method for providing caller identification information that overcomes these deficiencies.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/122,484, filed Jul. 24, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference. This patent application discloses a method and system for providing a called party with audible caller identification information when standard caller identification cannot be provided. When standard caller identification cannot be provided, the call is blocked and a request for audible caller identification is transmitted to the calling party. The audible information is subsequently transmitted to the called party.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/253,339, filed Feb. 19, 1999 illustrates in further detail implementation of this technique in a telecommunications system including Advanced Information Network (AIN) elements. This application is incorporated herein by reference. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) includes a substantial number of AIN devices such as Service Switching Points (SSPs), Service Control Points (SCPs), Signalling Transfer Points (STPs) and Service Nodes (SNs) which may be configured to provide call handling methods, including caller identification.
However, to increase PSTN capacity and flexibility, many service providers and customers are developing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies. VoIP is a system in which voice or speech is converted to electrical signals and digitized. The digital signals are segmented into packets, with each packet including a header with addressing information and a payload of digital data. The speech data may also be compressed or converted to other formats to improve efficiency or network operation. Using the standardized transmission control protocol and internet protocol (commonly referred to together as TCP/IP), packets are communicated from an origin through one or more network routers to a destination. The routers using the packet header for routing each packet.
While VoIP systems are effective for communication of speech information, many desirable features of AIN are missing from VoIP systems. For example, VoIP systems lack a method for processing calls when Caller ID information can not be provided for a VoIP call. As a result, the call recipient lacks the necessary information for deciding to accept the call.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for providing enhanced caller identification information in a telecommunication system using VoIP systems and methods.